Barnes & Noble misses Q4 estimates

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) missed sales expectations and reported a wider-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter of 2019. Shares were down by 0.45% at market open on Wednesday.   

Total sales of $755 million were down 3.9% from the same period last year. Comparable store sales declined 2.3%.  

The company reported a net loss of $18.7 million, or $0.26 per share, compared to $21.1 million, or $0.29 per share, last year.

Excluding charges, consolidated EBITDA was $4.6 million in the fourth quarter compared to $6.7 million a year ago.

During the quarter, retail sales dropped 3.5% year-over-year to $738 million while NOOK sales fell 20% to $20 million.

Earlier this month, Elliott Advisors Limited agreed to acquire Barnes & Noble for $683 million. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019. Although Elliot’s offer valued the company at $6.50 per share, the stock is currently trading at $6.60 per share.

The bookseller has been struggling with the impacts of changing consumer trends and tough competition from Amazon (AMZN), which has been taking market share away from it. The impact is seen in the retailer’s comp-store sales trend which has declined since 2017, barring the third quarter which saw a growth of 1.1%.  

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